Mary Urges High School Students to Learn From Her Mistakes!

So I've written a lot about myself, but haven't heard much from you guys. I remember around this time of year, college applications were my life. During the process, I was lucky to visit two beautiful but very different campuses that gave me an enormous amount of insight into the college atmosphere.

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In November of last year, I got accepted into a four-day, all expenses paid (including airfare!) preview at Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota. Macalester is a small (1,900 students), private, liberal arts college with a "special emphasis on internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society." Reading this description off of the Website, I thought it would a perfect school for me, since I wanted to study International Relations.

However, when I arrived, I realized how stifling such a small student population could be, and the St. Paul/Minneapolis area wasn't urban enough to be a city, but still lacked the charm of friendly suburbs. Sure, the trees changed color into gorgeous orbs of red and gold (something I never saw in Florida!), but after the second day, I knew that the distinct blend of people and academics was not as far-reaching or worldly as I had expected. The students themselves warned us of the "Macalester bubble." In the end, I just didn't connect with the campus.

The second college I visited was Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Okay, New Haven is nowhere near a lively urban area and definitely lacking in restaurant or mall selection... but WOW, if I had high expectations of Yale before I got there (which I did), I left with an even better impression of its academics and people. For me, Yale was the perfect size — around 5,000 undergraduates, and every one that I met were such idiosyncratic characters with amazing backgrounds and some unique story to tell. The breathtaking neo-Gothic architecture (imagine Hogwarts!) seemed to be just another plus that I wanted to live and breathe and eat within. Needless to say, I fell in love with the school, and I knew, on my second and last day there, that I had found perfection.

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Nevertheless, I ended up at the University of Florida. How? I wish I could say, "I don't know..." and keep it mysterious, but I do know exactly why I didn't get into Yale after being deferred Early Action. If you're curious, I'll help you not make the same mistakes I did!

Disclaimer: I have come to love UF, the intoxicating Gator spirit, and the amazing and potentially FREE study abroad opportunities here!